IJERPH, Vol. 16, Pages 3913: Trends in Tanning Bed Use, Motivation, and Risk Awareness in Germany: Findings from Four Waves of the National Cancer Aid Monitoring (NCAM)

IJERPH, Vol. 16, Pages 3913: Trends in Tanning Bed Use, Motivation, and Risk Awareness in Germany: Findings from Four Waves of the National Cancer Aid Monitoring (NCAM) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph16203913 Authors: Katharina Diehl Tatiana Görig Rüdiger Greinert Eckhard W. Breitbart Sven Schneider Indoor tanning is an important risk factor for the development of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. With our nationally representative monitoring, we aimed at describing tanning bed use, user characteristics, reasons for use, and risk awareness over time. In the framework of the National Cancer Aid Monitoring (NCAM), we collected representative data on 12,000 individuals aged 14 to 45 years in annual waves of n = 3,000 participants in Germany between 2015 and 2018. We used descriptive statistics and chi²-tests to uncover group differences. To compare data from the different waves, we calculated confidence intervals. The use of tanning beds decreased from 2015 (11.0%, 95%-CI: 9.9%–12.1%) to 2018 (8.8%, 95%-CI: 7.8%–9.8%). However, this decrease did not affect all subgroups. For instance, there was an (non-significant) increase in minors and the prevalence remained stable for individuals with immigrant background and males. Attractiveness was an important reason for tanning bed use in each wave. Over time, there was an increase in medical-related reasons for use. Fur...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research